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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pop — soda
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pop — to visit
  6. last — final
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — finally
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pop — music
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. last — to go on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wound — an injury

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