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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rock — music
  18. chair — a leader
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ground — a position
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rock — a stone

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