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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 116 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. key — in music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cell — in biology
  9. key — the most important part
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. season — in sport
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. deal — to handle
  17. season — of the year
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. key — for a lock
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bark — to shout
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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