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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. roll — a list
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. last — final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. chair — a leader
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. last — finally
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. stand — to bear
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. last — to go on
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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