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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. firm — steady
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. firm — a company
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. march — music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. shower — rain
  12. firm — decided
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — not warm
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hand — help
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. cold — an illness
  24. hand — in cards

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