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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stock — shares
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mug — a face
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stock — goods
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. deal — to handle
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mug — a cup
  24. deal — an agreement

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