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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bass — low music
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. race — a contest
  14. rule — a law
  15. present — there
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bass — the fish
  21. race — humankind
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. present — the time now
  24. rule — government

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