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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. charge — a price
  3. band — a ring
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — part of the head
  13. band — a music group
  14. face — to point toward
  15. dip — to sink
  16. charge — in control
  17. face — to confront
  18. mate — a partner
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — to breed
  23. dip — a sauce
  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