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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. fall — the season
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. stock — shares
  10. pit — in a race
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stock — goods
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rash — a series
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stock — a soup base

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