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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: craft · cue · chair · field · cell · bound · roll · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bound — certain
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. roll — a list
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. field — for sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. roll — a cake
  11. field — farmland
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bound — tied together
  14. chair — a leader
  15. craft — boats
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bound — obliged
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. field — a subject

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