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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. saw — the tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. net — for catching
  7. rock — a stone
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. stock — goods
  10. net — in sport
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. band — a ring
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. land — a country
  15. band — a music group
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. land — ground
  19. chair — a leader
  20. land — to come down
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stock — shares
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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