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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. firm — steady
  3. face — to confront
  4. suit — in cards
  5. firm — decided
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. court — for sport
  8. chair — a leader
  9. clip — for paper
  10. suit — clothes
  11. bore — to drill
  12. clip — to cut
  13. firm — a company
  14. court — of a king
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. court — of law
  18. suit — to fit
  19. face — part of the head
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bore — to tire
  24. chair — to sit on

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