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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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. file — a tool
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. scale — in music
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. file — a document
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chair — a leader
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mate — a friend
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. scale — for weighing

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