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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mark — a trace
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. last — finally
  8. stock — goods
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. stock — shares
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bound — tied together
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cold — an illness
  24. last — final

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