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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pit — in a race
  5. squash — to crush
  6. file — a tool
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cue — for pool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. face — to confront
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pit — a hole
  16. scale — size or range
  17. file — a document
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cue — a signal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. squash — the sport
  24. scale — in music

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