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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stock — shares
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. season — of the year
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. march — music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. kid — to tease
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to click
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — the month
  23. season — in sport
  24. chair — to sit on

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