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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — the sport
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. season — in sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. band — a ring
  12. game — a match
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitch — completely
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chair — a leader
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. season — of the year
  23. band — a music group
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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