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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — in sport
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. band — a music group
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. squash — to crush
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. foot — a measure
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — of the year
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pit — a hole
  24. squash — the sport

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