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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. tube — the underground
  8. capital — money
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. capital — a city
  14. tube — a container
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chair — a leader
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fine — all right
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rush — a thrill

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