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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 124 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a leader
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — in golf
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. swing — to play on
  20. perch — the fish
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — with an edge

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