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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — a leader
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. press — a publisher
  8. content — the amount
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. press — to push
  16. race — humankind
  17. court — of a king
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. race — a contest
  20. court — for sport
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. press — newspapers
  23. court — of law
  24. deal — to handle

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