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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — ground
  3. cell — a phone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. pitch — completely
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. spell — magic
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. land — to come down
  11. kick — in football
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spell — a short time
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. toast — bread
  21. spell — letters
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. land — a country

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