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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. present — there
  6. track — a song
  7. chair — a leader
  8. spring — of water
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cold — an illness
  13. present — the time now
  14. spring — the season
  15. present — a gift
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. track — a path
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chair — to sit on

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