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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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468
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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — steady
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chest — a box
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wake — a trail
  20. firm — a company
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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