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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 · pitcher · bulb · firm · chest · sharp · key · ground

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. firm — a company
  4. ground — the earth
  5. chest — a box
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. key — in music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. firm — decided
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. ground — a position
  23. firm — steady
  24. bulb — for light

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