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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. key — in music
  6. key — the most important part
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. staff — employees
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rash — a series
  14. mate — a friend
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mate — a partner
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. staff — employees
  24. pop — soda

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