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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · hide · present · chair · game · toast

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. toast — bread
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. race — humankind
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. present — a gift
  7. race — a contest
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. present — the time now
  11. race — the arms race
  12. present — there
  13. chair — a leader
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. game — a match
  18. chair — a professorship

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