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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — not warm
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rule — a law
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. present — the time now
  18. rash — hasty
  19. saw — the tool
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rule — government

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