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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. net — for catching
  3. season — in sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. season — of the year
  6. pop — music
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. net — after costs
  9. pop — to visit
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. net — in sport
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pop — soda
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chair — a leader
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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