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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mug — a face
  5. club — a group
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. club — for golf
  12. spring — of water
  13. swing — music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cold — an illness
  21. club — for dancing
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bear — to put up with

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