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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cell — in biology
  7. court — of law
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. court — of a king
  11. craft — boats
  12. track — a song
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chip — to eat
  20. track — to keep track
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. track — a path
  23. chip — for betting
  24. tear — from crying

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