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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. file — a document
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cap — a lid
  6. game — a match
  7. object — an aim
  8. cap — a hat
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cap — of ice
  11. file — a tool
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ground — a position
  14. object — to protest
  15. rash — a series
  16. root — the cause
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rash — hasty
  21. root — of a word
  22. object — a thing
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — the earth

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