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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bulb — for light
  3. object — an aim
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. squash — the sport
  9. object — a thing
  10. mate — a partner
  11. kick — in football
  12. mate — to breed
  13. squash — to crush
  14. face — to point toward
  15. chest — a box
  16. face — to confront
  17. chest — of your body
  18. object — to protest
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bulb — for light

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