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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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rule — government
  4. net — after costs
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. net — for catching
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. season — in sport
  11. net — in sport
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. root — the cause
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. season — of the year
  19. wind — moving air
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — a law
  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