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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rush · cold · chair · present · roll · mark · chest · prune

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. chest — a box
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. roll — a list
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mark — a trace
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. roll — a cake
  23. prune — to trim
  24. present — there

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