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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bound — tied together
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. rule — a law
  6. bound — certain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bound — obliged
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rule — government
  13. kick — in football
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. court — of a king
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. court — for sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — of law
  24. shower — to wash

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