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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pop — music
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chair — a leader
  8. present — the time now
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. capital — a city
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. shower — rain
  14. present — there
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — money
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. pop — soda
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pop — to visit
  23. present — a gift
  24. kid — child

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