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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 120 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chair — a leader
  6. charge — a price
  7. wind — moving air
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. charge — electricity
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. charge — in control
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fork — in a road
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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