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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 120 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. net — after costs
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — obliged
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fine — all right
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bound — certain
  23. net — for catching
  24. chair — to sit on

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