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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. key — in music
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ball — a dance
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rest — what's left
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. squash — the sport
  12. present — the time now
  13. ball — a great time
  14. key — for a lock
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. present — a gift
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. present — there
  24. cold — not warm

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