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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spring — of water
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. court — for sport
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. hand — in cards
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. court — of law
  17. hand — help
  18. spring — the season
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — humankind
  23. court — of a king
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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