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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. rash — hasty
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — a series
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. plane — a tool
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — an illness
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. squash — the sport
  22. present — there
  23. club — for dancing
  24. vault — a safe

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