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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. court — of law
  4. mate — a partner
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. court — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. mate — a friend
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bound — obliged
  12. race — a contest
  13. bound — tied together
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. race — humankind
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bound — certain
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. court — of a king
  24. mate — to breed

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