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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cap — a hat
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cap — of ice
  21. last — finally
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cap — a lid

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