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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rule — a law
  3. mate — a partner
  4. last — to go on
  5. court — of law
  6. key — in music
  7. rule — government
  8. key — for a lock
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. last — final
  14. kick — in football
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mate — to breed
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. mate — a friend
  19. dip — to sink
  20. last — finally
  21. court — for sport
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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