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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ground — a position
  4. staff — employees
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. net — in sport
  10. staff — employees
  11. chair — a leader
  12. net — for catching
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. staff — a stick
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fall — to drop
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ground — crushed
  21. net — after costs
  22. fall — the season
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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