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

Word bank: lean · cue · leaves · chair · season · bat · snap · cell

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chair — a leader
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bat — the animal
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — thin
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cue — a hint
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cue — a signal
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. season — in sport
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cue — for pool
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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