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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pass — a permit
  5. dip — to sink
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. bear — the animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. pass — to succeed

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