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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · root · pitcher · sharp · chair · key · net · deal

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. net — after costs
  4. key — for a lock
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — for catching
  8. deal — to handle
  9. root — the cause
  10. sharp — clever
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. net — in sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cold — not warm
  22. key — in music
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pitcher — a jug

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