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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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Word bank
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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: cell · bound · jam · chair · foot · march · wake · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. bound — tied together
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cell — a phone
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cell — in biology
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. march — the month
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bound — certain

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