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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. drill — army training
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — not warm
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chair — a leader
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — of water
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wake — before a funeral

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