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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cell — in biology
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. band — a music group
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. craft — a skill
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. clip — to cut
  16. craft — boats
  17. capital — a city
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — rain
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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