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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pop — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pop — soda
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pop — to visit
  11. row — a line
  12. cap — of ice
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. spring — the season
  15. cap — a lid
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spring — of water
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wound — an injury
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cap — a hat

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