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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. 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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. present — there
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chair — a leader
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chest — a box
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. present — the time now
  11. capital — money
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — employees
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — the animal
  17. present — a gift
  18. wound — an injury
  19. staff — employees
  20. capital — a city
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. 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