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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pit — a hole
  3. firm — decided
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rash — a series
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pit — in a race
  9. firm — steady
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. firm — a company
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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