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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. shower — to wash
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. game — wild animals
  14. suit — to fit
  15. suit — in cards
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. suit — clothes

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