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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spring — the season
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spring — of water
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. kick — in football
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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