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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. file — a line of people
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. swing — to play on
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. swing — music
  12. file — a document
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cell — in biology
  15. object — to protest
  16. file — a tool
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — help
  19. content — happy
  20. object — a thing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. object — an aim
  23. scale — in music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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