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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fine — all right
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. club — a group
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. club — for golf
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — high quality
  24. club — for dancing

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