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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — a song
  4. present — a gift
  5. chair — a leader
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. track — a path
  14. present — there
  15. wound — an injury
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. dip — to sink
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. racket — a loud noise

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