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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ball — a dance
  3. object — to protest
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ball — a great time
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — a thing
  18. row — to paddle
  19. swing — to play on
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. ground — a position
  23. chair — a leader
  24. game — a match

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