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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cap — a lid
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cap — a hat
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. race — humankind
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. spell — magic
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. sharp — clever
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. spell — letters
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. present — there
  18. spell — a short time
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cap — of ice
  21. present — the time now
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. net — after costs

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