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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pound — a weight
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. date — the fruit
  9. land — to come down
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. land — ground
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cell — in biology
  20. land — a country
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. degree — an amount

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