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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. court — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. court — of law
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — of a king
  23. wake — a trail
  24. leaves — to go away

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