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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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468
Word bank
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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — a phone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. craft — a skill
  5. pop — to visit
  6. file — a document
  7. spell — letters
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. tube — a container
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. spell — magic
  15. pop — soda
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cell — in biology
  21. file — a tool
  22. craft — boats
  23. file — a line of people
  24. tube — in a tire

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