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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. sharp — clever
  8. craft — boats
  9. cap — a lid
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chair — a leader
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cell — in biology
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cap — a hat
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cell — in a prison
  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