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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. key — in music
  6. key — the most important part
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. chair — a leader
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. pit — in a race
  24. chair — to sit on

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