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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chair — a leader
  5. spell — magic
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. object — a thing
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. object — an aim
  16. mine — for digging
  17. swing — music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. object — to protest
  20. swing — in golf
  21. spell — letters
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pass — a permit
  24. swing — to play on

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