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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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 professorship
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. swing — to play on
  5. land — ground
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. swing — music
  9. charge — in control
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. charge — a price
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — rain
  16. charge — electricity
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. land — a country
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chair — a leader
  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