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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — wild animals
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — of the year
  11. game — a match
  12. season — in sport
  13. ball — a great time
  14. root — the cause
  15. snap — to click
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. root — of a word
  21. ball — a dance
  22. tear — from crying
  23. root — of a plant
  24. chair — a professorship

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