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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rash — hasty
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. date — the fruit
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fine — all right
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. rash — a series
  21. fine — high quality
  22. lie — to recline
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. row — a line

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