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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — ground
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — to come down
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. land — a country
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to click
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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