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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. charge — in control
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wake — a trail
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. capital — a city
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to click
  16. capital — money
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pit — a hole
  20. chair — a leader
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — electricity
  24. cold — the Cold War

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