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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 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lean — to bend
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rule — government
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — a law
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mug — a face
  14. tube — the underground
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. drill — army training
  17. lean — thin
  18. face — to confront
  19. drill — the tool
  20. face — part of the head
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. tube — a container
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mug — to rob

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