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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. field — for sport
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. content — the amount
  14. vault — a safe
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — happy
  24. chair — a leader

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