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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hand — help
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stock — shares
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — rain
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bound — certain
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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