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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. court — of a king
  4. prune — to trim
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mate — to breed
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mate — a friend
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — wild animals
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mate — a partner
  17. stock — shares
  18. court — of law
  19. chair — a leader
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. game — a match
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stock — goods

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