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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. plane — a tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. ground — crushed
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. shower — rain
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pit — in a race
  9. root — the cause
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — of a plant
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — a video
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pit — a hole
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — a position
  20. root — of a word
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chair — a leader
  24. shower — to wash

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