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

Word bank: chair · pit · net · craft · sharp · track · pound · cell

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. track — to keep track
  3. chair — a leader
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. net — in sport
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pit — in a race
  12. track — a song
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pound — a weight
  15. net — after costs
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. track — a path
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. net — for catching
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cell — a phone

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