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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. bat — the animal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. date — the fruit
  21. swing — music
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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