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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wax — to grow
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — rain
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rush — hurry
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chair — a leader
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — in music
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. scale — size or range
  24. sharp — clever

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