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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. present — the time now
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chair — a leader
  7. present — a gift
  8. ball — a dance
  9. present — there
  10. spell — magic
  11. cap — a hat
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cap — of ice
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. spell — letters
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cap — a lid
  24. ball — a great time

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