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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. squash — to crush
  4. ground — the earth
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. net — after costs
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. court — of law
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bark — to shout
  24. kick — with a leg

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