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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. capital — money
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chair — to sit on

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