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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. last — final
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — to go on
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. last — finally
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cap — a hat
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stand — for spectators

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