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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 116 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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — letters
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rest — a break
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. lie — to recline
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — magic
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bear — the animal
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spell — a short time
  24. chair — a professorship

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