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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stock — goods
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chest — of your body
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — a box
  23. stock — shares
  24. fan — a supporter

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