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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 124 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. staff — employees
  4. stock — shares
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. staff — employees
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — a thing
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stock — goods
  20. object — to protest
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. dip — to sink
  24. squash — to crush

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