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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. object — a thing
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. field — farmland
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. object — an aim
  15. field — for sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. object — to protest
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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