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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. can — to be able to
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — a country
  6. can — a tin
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. present — a gift
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. chair — a leader
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. can — a tin
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bark — to shout
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. present — the time now
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. present — there
  22. hand — help
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. land — ground

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