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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 124 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bore — to tire
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chip — to eat
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. court — of a king
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. press — to push
  14. bore — to drill
  15. root — the cause
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. court — of law
  20. press — a publisher
  21. race — a contest
  22. press — newspapers
  23. root — of a word
  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