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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pit — a hole
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. game — a match
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rash — a series
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rule — government
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — a leader
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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