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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rule — a law
  5. net — after costs
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. rule — government
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. net — for catching
  11. rash — a series
  12. game — a match
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. net — in sport
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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