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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. key — in music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. key — for a lock
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. scale — in music
  11. pass — a permit
  12. key — the most important part
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. scale — size or range
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. stock — shares
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stock — goods
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a grade

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