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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spell — magic
  3. mark — a trace
  4. net — in sport
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bass — low music
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. net — after costs
  14. spell — letters
  15. net — for catching
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. spell — a short time
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — the cause
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. root — of a word
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mark — a grade

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