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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rock — a stone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — child
  13. land — a country
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. date — the fruit
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rock — music

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