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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. craft — boats
  3. chest — a box
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bark — to shout
  8. track — a song
  9. bound — certain
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. track — to keep track
  13. chest — of your body
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. track — a path
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chair — a leader
  21. vault — a safe
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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