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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. spring — a coil
  4. drill — army training
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. drill — the tool
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to click
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — of water
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pitcher — a jug

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