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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bank — for money
  6. bound — tied together
  7. game — a match
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — of water
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bound — obliged
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. spring — the season
  16. bound — certain
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. sharp — clever
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — to shout

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