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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. band — a ring
  10. craft — boats
  11. chair — a leader
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. perch — the fish
  18. band — a music group
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. scale — in music
  24. band — a rubber band

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