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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chest — a box
  3. spring — of water
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spring — a coil
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mate — to breed
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spring — the season
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cap — a hat

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