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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. pop — soda
  5. club — for golf
  6. rule — a law
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. club — a group
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rule — government
  16. club — for dancing
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pitcher — a jug

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