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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. ground — a position
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rule — government
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ground — crushed
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. rule — a law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. chair — a leader
  24. foot — a measure

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