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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — in biology
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. capital — money
  16. cold — not warm
  17. object — an aim
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — an illness

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