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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. last — final
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — a box
  10. last — to go on
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. march — the month
  13. mate — a friend
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. last — finally
  16. mate — a partner
  17. perch — the fish
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chair — a leader
  20. march — the month
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. march — music

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