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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. present — the time now
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rule — a law
  12. band — a ring
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. present — a gift
  18. capital — money
  19. present — there
  20. capital — a city
  21. band — a music group
  22. rule — government
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chair — a professorship

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