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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spell — magic
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. net — after costs
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. kid — child
  8. cell — in biology
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. band — a music group
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. spell — letters
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — to tease

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