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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — of law
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rash — hasty
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. can — a tin
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — a series
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. can — a tin
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. race — humankind
  18. rush — hurry
  19. race — a contest
  20. court — for sport
  21. can — to be able to
  22. rest — what's left
  23. race — the arms race
  24. court — of a king

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