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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. staff — a stick
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mine — for digging
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. staff — employees
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. staff — employees
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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