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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in biology
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — help
  17. cell — a phone
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — size or range
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. scale — in music

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