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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. craft — a skill
  4. tube — a container
  5. scale — size or range
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. scale — in music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pop — soda
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. chair — a leader
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. craft — boats
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pop — music
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. sharp — clever
  22. net — in sport
  23. pop — to visit
  24. scale — for weighing

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