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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: chair · firm · bowl · fine · drill · squash · cold · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cold — not warm
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — in biology
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fine — all right
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. drill — the tool
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. squash — the sport
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. firm — a company
  24. fine — high quality

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