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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chest — a box
  10. date — the fruit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. vault — a safe
  20. kick — in football
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rush — hurry
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. kick — a thrill

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