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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. firm — a company
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. firm — decided
  8. chair — a leader
  9. game — a match
  10. firm — steady
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cell — a phone
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cell — in biology
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — wild animals
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. chair — a professorship

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