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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: chair · date · fall · deal · cold · present

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fall — the season
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. chair — a leader
  5. present — there
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — not warm
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. deal — to handle
  12. present — the time now
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — a gift
  18. cold — the Cold War

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