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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. rule — a law
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. net — after costs
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. content — happy
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. net — for catching
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — in music
  15. content — the amount
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stand — to bear
  18. net — in sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — size or range
  22. ground — crushed
  23. march — music
  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