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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rock — music
  11. lie — to recline
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rock — a stone
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lie — an untruth

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