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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. last — finally
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chest — a box
  9. last — final
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. squash — the sport
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — to go on
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. craft — boats
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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