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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 124 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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — a gift
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — to protest
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. object — a thing
  11. cell — a phone
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. lie — to recline
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — to sit on

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