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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chair — a leader

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