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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. squash — the sport
  4. scale — size or range
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pop — to visit
  7. shower — rain
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pop — music
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bear — the animal
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pop — soda
  18. chair — a leader
  19. squash — to crush
  20. scale — in music
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bear — the animal

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