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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · present · rest · snap · chair · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rest — a break
  5. pit — in a race
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a line
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. present — a gift
  13. row — to paddle
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. chair — a leader
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. chair — to sit on

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