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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. present — a gift
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spell — magic
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spell — a short time
  10. present — there
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. present — the time now
  14. chair — a leader
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. squash — to crush
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spell — letters

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