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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 116 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tear — from crying
  20. snap — to click
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chair — a leader

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