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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. season — in sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — in cards
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hand — help
  12. season — of the year
  13. suit — clothes
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. suit — in cards
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rash — a series
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. suit — to fit
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. straw — dry grass

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