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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: leaves · ruler · rock · sharp · bat · chest · kid · chair

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bat — the animal
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — to tease
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — a leader
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rock — music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rock — a stone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chest — a box
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. leaves — to go away

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