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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. season — of the year
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ball — a dance
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. season — in sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cap — of ice

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