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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bound — tied together
  10. present — a gift
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rash — a series
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bound — certain
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — a straw man

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