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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. deal — to handle
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chair — a leader
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kid — child
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. net — in sport
  16. cell — a phone
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. net — after costs
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. net — for catching

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