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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. file — a document
  4. bass — low music
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. net — in sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — to crush
  9. file — a tool
  10. net — after costs
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. file — a line of people
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cell — in biology
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. net — for catching
  18. game — a match

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