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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 120 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: cold · rash · wake · suit · ground · content · chair · object

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. ground — a position
  4. object — an aim
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cold — not warm
  7. ground — the earth
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. object — to protest
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. rash — a series
  14. wake — a trail
  15. content — the amount
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. suit — clothes
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — in cards
  23. object — a thing
  24. cold — an illness

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