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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. court — of law
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — to paddle
  10. shower — rain
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — for sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — of a king
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. row — a line
  23. perch — the fish
  24. row — a quarrel

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