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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. roll — a cake
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chair — a leader
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fork — in a road
  11. roll — a list
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a document
  24. saw — the tool

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