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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. net — in sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. net — after costs
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. net — for catching
  19. drill — army training
  20. land — a country
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. land — to come down
  24. bank — of a river

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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