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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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Word bank
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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 · bark · fall · prune · firm · fan · sharp · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chair — a leader
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. firm — decided
  17. fall — the season
  18. pit — in a race
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pit — a hole
  24. fall — to drop

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