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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rash — hasty
  6. present — there
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rash — a series
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. season — of the year
  12. court — of law
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. court — of a king
  15. present — the time now
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. season — in sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — a leader
  24. court — for sport

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