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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. plane — a tool
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. spring — of water
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rule — government
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. rule — a law
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. temple — a place of worship

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