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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — humankind
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. race — the arms race
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — child
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — a contest
  22. kid — to tease
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. ball — a dance

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