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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. club — a group
  4. land — a country
  5. chair — a leader
  6. club — for dancing
  7. squash — to crush
  8. land — ground
  9. key — for a lock
  10. fine — all right
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. club — for golf
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. land — to come down

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