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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. fall — the season
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pop — to visit
  8. file — a tool
  9. cap — a lid
  10. file — a document
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pop — soda
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. file — a line of people
  16. last — finally
  17. charge — electricity
  18. pop — music
  19. charge — a price
  20. fall — to drop
  21. charge — in control
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fall — to drop
  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