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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rush — hurry
  8. firm — steady
  9. last — final
  10. ground — a position
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spell — magic
  13. ground — crushed
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spell — letters
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. last — to go on
  19. branch — a division
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — finally
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a professorship
  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