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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. key — for a lock
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chair — a leader
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. spring — of water
  9. mine — for digging
  10. key — in music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rest — a break
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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