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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 120 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chair — a leader
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. craft — a skill
  5. ground — a position
  6. saw — the tool
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. net — after costs
  10. craft — boats
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — in sport
  14. pound — a weight
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. season — of the year
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. saw — the tool
  19. net — in sport
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — crushed

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