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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ground — a position
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wake — a trail
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. chair — a professorship

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