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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. suit — clothes
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bear — the animal
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. suit — to fit
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. suit — in cards
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. sharp — clever
  24. plane — in geometry

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