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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: season · row · cold · court · date · rush · chair · toast

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. toast — bread
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — to paddle
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rush — hurry
  10. row — a line
  11. court — for sport
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. chair — a leader
  14. season — in sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. season — of the year

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