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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 116 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. chair — a leader
  3. spell — letters
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bass — low music
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — to recline
  9. spell — magic
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bass — the fish
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. key — for a lock
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. season — of the year
  20. key — in music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rest — a break

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