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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: mark · staff · chair · suit · chip · cold · cell · lie

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lie — to recline
  3. staff — employees
  4. suit — clothes
  5. chair — a leader
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cold — not warm
  8. suit — to fit
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. staff — employees
  12. mark — a trace
  13. suit — in cards
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cell — in a prison

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