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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. fine — high quality
  5. band — a ring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stem — to come from
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. band — a music group
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fine — all right

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