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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chair — a leader
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. date — the fruit
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. key — the most important part
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. key — in music
  23. field — farmland
  24. cabinet — ministers

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