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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. chest — a box
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chair — a leader

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