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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chest — a box
  6. spring — of water
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. last — finally
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spring — a coil
  15. last — final
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cell — in biology

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