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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. chair — a leader
  4. last — finally
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. squash — the sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. squash — to crush
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kick — in football
  24. prune — to trim

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