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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chair — a leader
  3. drill — the tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mug — a face
  6. staff — a stick
  7. present — a gift
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. field — farmland
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. field — a subject
  14. staff — employees
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. present — there
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — a practice
  19. present — the time now
  20. field — for sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. staff — employees

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