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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. board — a committee
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wind — moving air
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. board — to get on
  15. roll — a cake
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pit — in a race
  18. roll — a list

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