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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. present — there
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. present — the time now
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mate — a friend
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. snap — to click
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. fan — a supporter

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