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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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Word bank
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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. staff — a stick
  8. court — of law
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. cold — not warm
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kid — child
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. toast — bread
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — for sport
  19. chair — a leader
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. court — of a king
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kid — to tease

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