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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. kid — to tease
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — size or range
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kid — child
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. perch — the fish
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. date — the fruit
  20. firm — steady
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. scale — in music
  24. rock — a stone

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