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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stem — to come from
  4. game — a match
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cell — in biology
  8. game — wild animals
  9. can — a tin
  10. kid — to tease
  11. sharp — clever
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mate — a partner
  14. kid — child
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mate — to breed
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cell — a phone

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