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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. hand — help
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. key — for a lock
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. game — a match
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. present — there
  16. pitch — completely
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. key — in music
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. present — the time now
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. key — the most important part
  24. present — a gift

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