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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mine — for digging
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — low music
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rash — a series
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rash — hasty
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. arm — part of the body

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