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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. net — after costs
  5. chair — a leader
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. march — music
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. net — for catching
  16. hand — in cards
  17. saw — the tool
  18. net — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — help
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. march — the month
  24. cabinet — ministers

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