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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. face — to point toward
  10. suit — to fit
  11. face — to confront
  12. cell — a phone
  13. toast — bread
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. suit — clothes
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bass — low music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — a video
  23. suit — in cards
  24. bass — the fish

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