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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. last — final
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. march — the month
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — a leader
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lie — to recline
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — to go on
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. march — music
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. last — finally
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — the month
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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