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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cell — in biology
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rock — a stone
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rock — music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rule — to rule out

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