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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. roll — a list
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. roll — a cake
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — an illness

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