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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.

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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. charge — in control
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fine — all right
  6. band — a music group
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chair — a leader
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. charge — electricity
  14. perch — the fish
  15. charge — a price
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — for catching
  21. fine — high quality
  22. net — after costs
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. perch — for a bird

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