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

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. craft — boats
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wound — an injury
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mug — a face

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