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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cue — for pool
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. present — a gift
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. present — there
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. present — the time now
  17. chair — a leader
  18. sharp — clever
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fork — in a road

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