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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: track · ground · chair · cell · stick · lie · kid · toast

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. chair — a leader
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cell — in biology
  5. track — a song
  6. ground — a position
  7. toast — bread
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ground — the earth
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. track — a path
  15. lie — to recline
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. kid — child
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — a phone
  24. track — to keep track

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