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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. present — there
  3. track — a song
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. present — the time now
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spell — a short time
  9. present — a gift
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spell — letters
  13. track — a path
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spell — magic
  18. 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