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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. cell — in biology
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. season — of the year
  10. cell — a phone
  11. season — in sport
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — ground
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — to add flavour
  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