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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. game — a match
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rush — hurry
  5. capital — a city
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. game — wild animals
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. row — a line
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — a leader
  17. spring — of water
  18. object — an aim
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. object — to protest
  23. pit — a hole
  24. game — a kind of play

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