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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mug — a face
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. spring — of water
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mug — a cup
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mug — to rob
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — an injury

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