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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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. bowl — to roll
  4. rush — hurry
  5. land — ground
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. land — a country
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mate — to breed
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mate — a friend
  22. land — to come down
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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