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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. present — the time now
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cap — of ice
  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