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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chair — a leader
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wind — moving air
  10. key — in music
  11. kick — in football
  12. pitch — completely
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. key — for a lock
  20. plane — a tool
  21. date — the fruit
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. kick — a thrill

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