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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. roll — a list
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. present — a gift
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. hand — help
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wake — a trail
  13. present — there
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. roll — a cake
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kid — to tease
  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