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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. club — a group
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rule — a law
  10. root — of a word
  11. capital — a city
  12. club — for golf
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chair — a leader
  15. root — of a plant
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. root — the cause
  18. capital — money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rule — government
  21. saw — the tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. club — for dancing
  24. wound — an injury

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