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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 120 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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. race — the arms race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fork — in a road
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitch — completely
  17. staff — employees
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — child
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fork — a garden tool

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