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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. charge — a price
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ground — a position
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. charge — in control
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tube — a container
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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