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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chest — a box
  11. clip — to cut
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. chair — a leader
  24. trunk — of a tree

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