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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. net — for catching
  5. key — in music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. drill — a practice
  10. spell — letters
  11. key — for a lock
  12. chair — a leader
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. mate — to breed
  15. key — the most important part
  16. spell — a short time
  17. drill — army training
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spell — magic
  20. season — in sport
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. season — of the year
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mate — a friend

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