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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. craft — boats
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. capital — money
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — a city
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. press — a publisher
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — certain
  15. face — part of the head
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bound — tied together
  22. face — to point toward
  23. press — to push
  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