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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lean — thin
  5. bank — of a river
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chair — a leader
  9. game — a match
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bank — for money
  12. fine — high quality
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bank — for money
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lean — to bend
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chip — for betting

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