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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stock — shares
  3. chair — a leader
  4. net — for catching
  5. present — a gift
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. sharp — clever
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. branch — a division
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. present — there
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stock — goods
  22. kid — child
  23. present — the time now
  24. mouse — the animal

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