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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mate — a friend

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