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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. row — a line
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — an illness

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