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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spring — of water
  7. pound — a weight
  8. band — a ring
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stock — goods
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. stock — shares
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spring — the season
  24. band — a music group

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