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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · chair · march · content · cell · straw

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. 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. cell — in biology
  2. march — the month
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. content — the amount
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. cell — a phone
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. march — music
  18. 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