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

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spring — the season
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — of water
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fall — the season

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