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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. net — in sport
  3. tube — a container
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chair — a leader
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cap — of ice
  17. net — after costs
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. net — for catching
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. foot — part of the body

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