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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — to go on
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. net — after costs
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cap — of ice
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. last — final
  16. wake — a trail
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. last — finally
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chair — a leader
  21. net — in sport
  22. rash — a series
  23. cap — a lid
  24. net — for catching

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