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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cue — a signal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cue — for pool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — shares
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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