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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. staff — employees
  3. craft — boats
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mug — a cup
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mate — a partner
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mug — a face
  14. craft — a skill
  15. tube — the underground
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chair — a leader
  18. staff — employees
  19. mate — to breed
  20. staff — a stick
  21. content — happy
  22. tube — a container
  23. mate — a friend
  24. content — videos and posts

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