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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. game — a match
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. field — farmland
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. shower — rain
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. rule — a law
  18. field — a subject
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — government
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. field — for sport

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