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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: suit · chair · race · wake · row · hide

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. race — a contest
  3. chair — a leader
  4. suit — to fit
  5. race — the arms race
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — clothes
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. row — to paddle
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. row — a line
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — humankind
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — a trail
  18. row — a quarrel

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