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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spell — magic
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fall — the season
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spell — letters
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — in music
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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