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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. charge — electricity
  7. degree — from a university
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — temperature
  10. charge — a price
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. race — humankind
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. charge — in control
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. race — the arms race

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