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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fine — all right
  6. chair — a leader
  7. tube — the underground
  8. row — a line
  9. track — a song
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. fine — high quality
  15. kid — child
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. track — a path
  21. squash — to crush
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. track — to keep track
  24. row — to paddle

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