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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — of ice
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rule — a law
  7. game — a match
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spell — letters
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rule — government
  14. cap — a lid
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — wild animals
  20. club — a group
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rule — to rule out

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