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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stock — goods
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ball — a dance
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. shower — rain

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