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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: cell · net · toast · plane · pit · chair · chest · cold

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — in a race
  6. net — after costs
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chest — a box
  10. net — in sport
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pit — a hole
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — bread
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cell — a phone
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. net — for catching
  24. chair — a professorship

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