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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. hand — help
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fine — high quality
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. hand — in cards
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. season — in sport
  18. fine — all right
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rush — hurry
  21. season — of the year
  22. scale — in music
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — to sit on

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