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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rest — a break
  5. snap — to click
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ground — a position
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stand — to bear
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rest — what's left
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ball — a great time

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