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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fine — all right
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — for pool
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cue — a hint
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rule — a law
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rule — government

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