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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — not warm
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. stock — shares
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. stock — goods
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — the tool
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitch — completely
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. chair — a leader

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