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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — all right
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fine — high quality
  10. chair — a leader
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. scale — in music
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — size or range

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