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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. club — a group
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chair — a leader
  11. club — for golf
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bore — to tire
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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