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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: wound · chair · cell · bulb · lean · mate · cap · arm

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lean — thin
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mate — a friend
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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