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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. track — a path
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. capital — a city
  6. chair — a leader
  7. suit — in cards
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. track — a song
  10. suit — to fit
  11. track — to keep track
  12. net — in sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cold — an illness
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — for catching
  18. capital — money
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. suit — clothes
  22. net — after costs
  23. mug — a face
  24. cold — not warm

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