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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rash — a series
  6. pop — music
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pop — to visit
  10. object — to protest
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. object — an aim
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. object — a thing
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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