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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 120 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — a match
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cap — a lid
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitch — completely

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