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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. snap — to click
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. content — the amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — an injury
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. club — a group
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. craft — boats
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — for dancing
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. content — happy

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