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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. charge — a price
  3. can — a tin
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. charge — in control
  17. cell — in biology
  18. can — to be able to
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — bread
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — temperature
  24. charge — electricity

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