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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 120 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. swing — in golf
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — music
  8. season — in sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. season — of the year
  12. lean — to bend
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bat — the animal
  15. swing — to play on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. lean — thin
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. spring — of water
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. bat — for baseball

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