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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — to come down
  3. mate — to breed
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mate — a partner
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mate — a friend
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — rain
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — a country
  15. suit — clothes
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. suit — to fit
  19. land — ground
  20. shower — to wash
  21. suit — in cards
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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