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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: mark · cabinet · kid · rest · wound · dip · toast · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. toast — bread
  3. rest — what's left
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kid — child
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rest — a break
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. dip — to dunk

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