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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. court — of a king
  7. season — of the year
  8. chair — a leader
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. court — of law
  18. content — the amount
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. staff — a stick
  22. court — for sport
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. staff — employees

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