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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. object — an aim
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. object — to protest
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — of ice
  22. object — a thing
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wave — of the sea

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