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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. chair — a leader
  3. race — humankind
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. root — the cause
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. race — the arms race
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chest — a box
  15. root — of a plant
  16. race — a contest
  17. deal — to handle
  18. clip — to cut
  19. root — of a word
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — for paper

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