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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bound — tied together
  3. content — happy
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. season — of the year
  6. race — a contest
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. chair — a leader
  10. last — final
  11. content — the amount
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bound — obliged
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. ball — a great time
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bound — certain
  21. kick — in football
  22. season — in sport
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. race — humankind

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