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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. last — finally
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chair — a leader
  10. staff — a stick
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cell — a phone
  15. last — to go on
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cell — in biology
  19. staff — employees
  20. last — final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. prune — the fruit

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