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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. key — in music
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cell — a phone
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. key — for a lock
  14. spell — magic
  15. key — the most important part
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spell — letters
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chair — a leader
  23. saw — the tool
  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