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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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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. club — for golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chest — a box
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. present — the time now
  12. club — a group
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. present — there
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — of your body

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