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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. face — to confront
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — to fit
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. face — to point toward
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chair — a leader
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — an illness
  18. suit — clothes
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. calf — of the leg

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