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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. ball — a great time
  4. race — humankind
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bass — low music
  8. rash — hasty
  9. hand — help
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — in football
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bass — the fish
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rash — a series
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chair — a professorship

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