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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. race — humankind
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. staff — a stick
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. race — a contest
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. march — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. lean — to bend
  14. season — in sport
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. season — of the year
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. lean — thin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. stand — to bear

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