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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. squash — the sport
  12. lean — thin
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. lean — to bend
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mate — to breed
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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