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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a leader
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — hurry
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. toast — the most admired

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