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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 116 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. chair — a leader
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. object — an aim
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. object — a thing
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spell — letters
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. object — to protest
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — farmland
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. net — after costs
  19. field — for sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rest — a break

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