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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chair — a leader
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — a line
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. perch — the fish
  17. capital — money
  18. season — in sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. season — of the year
  21. bulb — for light
  22. file — a line of people
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a document

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