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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rule — a law
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. rule — government
  8. file — a tool
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. capital — money
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — a city
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fall — to drop
  21. file — a document
  22. swing — music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. capital — a big letter

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