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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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Word bank
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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: kid · cold · swing · wake · chair · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. kid — child
  9. swing — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. swing — to play on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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