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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. chair — a leader
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rest — what's left
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rest — what's left
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rest — a break
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. face — part of the head
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — not warm
  14. track — a path
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. game — a match
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. stand — to bear
  19. staff — employees
  20. face — to point toward
  21. track — to keep track
  22. face — to confront
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cold — the Cold War

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