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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. fall — to drop
  6. key — for a lock
  7. craft — boats
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fall — the season
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. key — the most important part
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. sharp — clever
  21. key — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — bread

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