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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. cold — an illness
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cap — a hat
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. prune — to trim

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