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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — in biology
  4. present — a gift
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. net — after costs
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. net — for catching
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — in football
  12. present — the time now
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. net — in sport
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — a phone
  19. present — there
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lie — an untruth

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