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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. staff — a stick
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. rule — government
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pitch — completely
  15. rule — a law
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. row — a line
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. staff — employees
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mate — to breed

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