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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. season — in sport
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — a line
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a document
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mark — a grade
  16. band — a music group
  17. mug — to rob
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a tool
  20. mark — a trace
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  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