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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — the amount
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. capital — money
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rule — government
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bowl — a dish

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