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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — a stone
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spring — the season
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rash — a series
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — of water
  15. rock — music
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pit — a hole
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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