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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. prune — to trim
  14. club — for golf
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. club — a group
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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