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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. net — for catching
  4. rest — a break
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. net — after costs
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — in sport
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fall — the season
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rest — what's left
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. ball — a great time
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lie — to recline

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