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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. cell — a phone
  10. net — for catching
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stand — to bear
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. pass — a permit
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bound — certain
  24. chair — a leader

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