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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — a leader
  3. snap — to click
  4. board — to get on
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. swing — music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. band — a music group
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. band — a ring
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. board — a committee

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