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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mug — a face
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mug — a cup
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cell — in biology
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cell — in a prison

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