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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — a leader
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. staff — employees
  9. mine — for digging
  10. staff — a stick
  11. kid — child
  12. net — in sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. staff — employees
  15. snap — to click
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. net — for catching
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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