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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cell — a phone
  3. tube — a container
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. tube — the underground
  9. land — a country
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. land — to come down
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — ground
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. file — a tool
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. ruler — for measuring

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