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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pit — in a race
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — a box
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — of your body
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — army training
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pit — a hole
  21. capital — money
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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