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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. lean — to bend
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. band — a music group
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chair — a leader
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bear — the animal
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. date — the fruit
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. board — a committee
  24. band — a ring

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