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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. net — in sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. net — for catching
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. squash — the sport
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. net — after costs
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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