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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 120 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cell — in biology
  5. sharp — clever
  6. can — a tin
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spring — of water
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. can — a tin
  21. wax — to grow
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. can — to be able to

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