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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chair — a leader
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. present — there
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. chest — a box
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — of your body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. present — the time now
  24. stand — on your feet

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