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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — for catching
  9. chair — a leader
  10. staff — employees
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. staff — employees
  13. net — after costs
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rule — government
  16. chest — a box
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. net — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rule — a law
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. key — in music
  24. racket — for tennis

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