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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cell — a phone
  3. drill — a practice
  4. club — a group
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. chair — a leader
  8. can — a tin
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. can — to be able to
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. dip — to sink
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. drill — army training
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. can — a tin
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. game — a match

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