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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chair — a leader
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fall — the season
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mine — for digging
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fall — to drop
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. racket — for tennis

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