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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spring — a coil
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. date — the fruit
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — steady
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. current — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. spring — of water
  21. current — happening now
  22. ball — a great time
  23. firm — a company
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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