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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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Word bank
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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. file — a tool
  6. key — in music
  7. file — a line of people
  8. sharp — clever
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. kid — child
  12. present — the time now
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. file — a document
  16. key — the most important part
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. present — a gift
  19. key — for a lock
  20. kick — in football
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chair — a leader
  23. present — there
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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