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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chair — a leader
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. kid — child
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. foot — a measure
  20. capital — a city
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. capital — money
  24. wound — an injury

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