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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a leader
  5. season — in sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. season — of the year
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. club — a group
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. object — a thing
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. object — an aim
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. club — for golf
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cabinet — ministers

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