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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cue — a hint
  6. band — a ring
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. band — a music group
  19. bat — the animal
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. rash — a series
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a cup
  24. cold — an illness

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