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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. kid — child
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — a leader
  7. club — a group
  8. rock — a stone
  9. capital — money
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. club — for golf
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — an injury
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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