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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chair — a leader
  5. present — a gift
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. swing — to play on
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. swing — in golf
  13. present — there
  14. swing — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. toast — bread
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. present — the time now
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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