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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. field — for sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bound — tied together
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ball — a dance
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — child
  16. bound — certain
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. field — farmland
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. squash — the vegetable

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