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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · bowl · rule · lie · bear · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. lie — to recline
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — a dish

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