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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. chair — a leader
  3. race — a contest
  4. rule — a law
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rule — government
  8. squash — the sport
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — to crush
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. race — humankind
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. kick — in football
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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