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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bat — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pass — a permit
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cold — an illness
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bat — for baseball

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