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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — a short time
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mug — to rob
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mug — a face
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spell — magic
  15. hand — in cards
  16. face — to confront
  17. hand — help
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mug — a cup
  21. spring — the season
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spell — letters
  24. fan — a supporter

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