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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. swing — to play on
  7. net — after costs
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bulb — for light
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. swing — in golf
  18. craft — boats
  19. swing — music
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bulb — of a plant

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