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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. net — for catching
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a ring
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hand — help
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hand — in cards
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — to grow
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. net — after costs
  24. foot — part of the body

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