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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. land — to come down
  3. charge — in control
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — electricity
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. land — a country
  12. charge — a price
  13. bear — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — in biology

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