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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. key — the most important part
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wind — moving air
  5. key — for a lock
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — to rip
  12. plane — a tool
  13. key — in music
  14. ball — a dance
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. snap — to click
  21. march — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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