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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. foot — a measure
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. date — the fruit
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bat — the animal

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