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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game 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 partner
  3. hand — in cards
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hand — help
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. last — final
  14. tube — a container
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tube — the underground
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. squash — the sport

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