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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. content — happy
  5. staff — employees
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chip — to eat
  9. staff — employees
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spring — the season
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spring — of water
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. content — the amount
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. staff — a stick

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