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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. capital — a city
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to click
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — money
  16. band — a ring
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. file — a line of people
  22. band — a music group
  23. file — a tool
  24. scale — in music

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