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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. fine — all right
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — a leader
  9. fine — high quality
  10. swing — in golf
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rule — a law
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. swing — music

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