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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. club — for golf
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. club — a group
  6. band — a ring
  7. mug — a face
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. press — to push
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. band — a music group
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mug — to rob
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rush — hurry

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