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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. present — the time now
  9. scale — in music
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. dip — to sink
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lie — to recline
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. scale — size or range

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