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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bound — obliged
  5. swing — music
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. season — of the year
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cue — a hint
  13. season — in sport
  14. swing — to play on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — in golf
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bound — certain
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — for pool
  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