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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bass — the fish
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bass — low music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mate — to breed
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. key — for a lock
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. key — in music
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. key — the most important part
  22. mate — a friend
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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