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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cell — in biology
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. staff — employees
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. staff — employees
  15. kid — to tease
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. straw — dry grass

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