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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spring — the season
  11. pitch — completely
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. club — for golf
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rule — government
  24. stand — on your feet

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