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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rest — what's left
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rest — a break
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pit — a hole
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — of water
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — a coil
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. spring — the season
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. pit — in a race

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