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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: kick · content · prune · cell · bay · chair

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. kick — in football
  7. content — the amount
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. content — happy
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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