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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: staff · rock · rule · chair · safe · cold · hide · fall

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. staff — employees
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — an illness
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rock — music
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a leader

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