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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chair — a leader
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. race — humankind
  7. mate — a friend
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. mate — a partner
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. kick — in football

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