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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. present — a gift
  3. rash — hasty
  4. can — a tin
  5. present — there
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. can — a tin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. present — the time now
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rash — a series
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. toast — bread
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. prune — to trim
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chair — to sit on

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