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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cold — an illness
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — a coil
  8. hand — help
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. spring — of water
  12. club — a group
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. club — for golf
  18. cold — not warm
  19. club — for dancing
  20. toast — bread
  21. spring — the season
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. chair — to sit on

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