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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — for sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. firm — decided
  10. court — of law
  11. firm — steady
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fall — to drop
  16. firm — a company
  17. cell — in biology
  18. court — of a king
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chair — a leader
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — the season

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