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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fall — to drop
  6. season — in sport
  7. cue — a signal
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fall — the season
  14. charge — a price
  15. season — of the year
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bat — the animal
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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