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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — a match
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — a country
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. staff — employees
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — wild animals
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rest — what's left
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. chair — a leader
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. game — a kind of play

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