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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bank — for money
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. can — a tin
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. fall — the season
  13. cold — an illness
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — of a river
  18. chest — a box
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bank — for money
  24. chair — to sit on

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