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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fine — high quality
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. content — happy
  7. row — a line
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bat — the animal
  13. club — a group
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. club — for golf
  16. wake — a trail
  17. content — the amount
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — videos and posts

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