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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. chair — a leader
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — to wash
  5. swing — music
  6. season — in sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. game — wild animals
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. season — of the year
  14. swing — to play on
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. hand — help
  23. swing — in golf
  24. season — to add flavour

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