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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 124 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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. staff — employees
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chair — a leader
  5. staff — employees
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. staff — a stick
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. toast — bread
  14. land — ground
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. land — to come down
  21. game — wild animals
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. land — a country

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