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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bound — tied together
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. file — a tool
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — obliged
  16. board — a committee
  17. file — a document
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. board — to get on
  21. bass — low music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bound — certain
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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