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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 124 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. field — farmland
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chest — a box
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. spell — magic
  8. field — a subject
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. toast — bread
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spell — a short time
  15. field — for sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spell — letters
  18. chest — of your body
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — in biology

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