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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a match
  4. face — to confront
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cell — in biology
  10. roll — a cake
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tear — from crying
  13. scale — in music
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. roll — a list
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tear — to rip
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. face — to point toward

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