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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. object — a thing
  3. staff — a stick
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. staff — employees
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. net — for catching
  11. staff — employees
  12. object — an aim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. net — after costs
  16. hand — help
  17. net — in sport
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. object — to protest
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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