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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. prune — to trim
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. dip — to sink
  12. chest — of your body
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. plane — a tool
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — a box
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. roll — a list
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. roll — a cake

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com