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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tube — a container
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. kid — child
  8. present — there
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. land — ground
  13. content — happy
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. content — the amount

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