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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. net — after costs
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. suit — clothes
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — to fit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — belonging to me

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