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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lean — to bend
  4. can — a tin
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. face — to confront
  9. ground — a position
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lean — thin
  13. can — a tin
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — an illness
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fine — all right
  20. face — to point toward
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chair — a professorship

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