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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. club — for golf
  3. mate — a friend
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. club — a group
  7. chair — a leader
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. net — in sport
  10. club — for dancing
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. snap — to click
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. net — after costs
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mate — a partner
  23. net — for catching
  24. cell — a phone

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