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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. can — a tin
  7. rash — a series
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — to be able to
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. net — for catching
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. race — humankind
  17. game — wild animals
  18. race — the arms race
  19. can — a tin
  20. net — in sport
  21. rash — hasty
  22. race — a contest
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. net — after costs

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