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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wound — an injury
  4. present — a gift
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rush — hurry
  11. present — the time now
  12. kick — in football
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bass — low music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cap — a hat

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