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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. snap — to click
  3. season — in sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — to come down
  11. craft — boats
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. race — humankind
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fall — the season
  22. season — of the year
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. race — a contest

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