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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cell — in biology
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — child
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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