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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. snap — to click
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. land — to come down
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — a country
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. plane — a tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. land — ground
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — a group
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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