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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. perch — the fish
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — child
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — a football final

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