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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. suit — to fit
  4. suit — in cards
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. hand — help
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. plane — a tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bark — to shout
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cap — a hat
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. suit — clothes
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. sharp — with an edge

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