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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. club — for dancing
  3. squash — the sport
  4. club — a group
  5. stem — to come from
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. date — the fruit
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chair — a leader
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. drill — the tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. drill — a practice
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. drill — army training

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