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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.

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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. tube — the underground
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tube — a container
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. face — to confront
  10. mine — for digging
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chest — a box
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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