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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chair — a leader
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. staff — employees
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a city
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — employees
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. capital — money
  20. race — humankind
  21. rash — hasty
  22. craft — boats
  23. staff — a stick
  24. race — a contest

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