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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of law
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pit — in a race
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fork — in a road
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bear — the animal
  23. court — of a king
  24. sharp — clever

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