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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. can — a tin
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. can — to be able to
  5. spring — the season
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kid — child
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spring — of water
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. can — a tin
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kid — to tease
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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