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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spell — letters
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. craft — a skill
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. spell — magic
  12. drill — army training
  13. row — a line
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. stock — shares
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. craft — boats
  21. present — the time now
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stock — goods
  24. row — a quarrel

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