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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.

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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cell — a phone
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — a contest
  10. club — for golf
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. race — humankind
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mate — to breed
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. race — the arms race

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