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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kid — to tease
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — steady
  18. kid — child
  19. stem — to come from
  20. chair — a leader
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pound — a weight
  23. fork — in a road
  24. game — a match

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