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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bark — to shout
  3. season — of the year
  4. chair — a leader
  5. foot — a measure
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. hand — in cards
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. season — in sport
  22. hand — help
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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