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

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chair — a leader
  4. staff — employees
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cell — in biology
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. object — a thing
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. object — to protest
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cell — a phone
  18. saw — the tool
  19. object — an aim
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. staff — employees
  24. saw — the tool

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