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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spring — of water
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spring — the season
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cell — a phone
  7. chair — a leader
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. present — a gift
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. court — of law
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — there
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. present — the time now
  20. bound — certain
  21. court — for sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bound — obliged

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