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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. chip — for betting
  3. club — a group
  4. ground — a position
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mug — a face
  8. spring — the season
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. net — in sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. spring — of water
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chip — to eat
  16. mug — to rob
  17. toast — bread
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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