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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — final
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — to point toward
  8. last — finally
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. face — to confront
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chip — to eat
  13. face — part of the head
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cell — in biology
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. last — to go on
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. chair — to sit on

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