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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. snap — to click
  5. drill — army training
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chest — a box
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. current — of water
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. current — electric
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. current — happening now
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. prune — to trim

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