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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. race — a contest
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pop — music
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mark — a grade
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pop — soda
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. race — the arms race
  16. pop — to visit
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. net — for catching
  22. file — a tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a document

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