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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. march — the month
  5. firm — a company
  6. cell — a phone
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cap — a lid
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spell — letters
  15. firm — steady
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cap — a hat
  23. firm — decided
  24. prune — to trim

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