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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 124 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. object — an aim
  4. stock — goods
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. land — a country
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stock — shares
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. object — a thing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. object — to protest

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