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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. net — in sport
  4. swing — to play on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rock — a stone
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. dip — to sink
  14. net — after costs
  15. swing — music
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. net — for catching
  18. branch — a division
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rock — music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. swing — in golf

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