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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. present — a gift
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stock — shares
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. present — the time now
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. stock — goods
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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