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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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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. scale — size or range
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cap — of ice
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. foot — a measure
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. scale — in music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. scale — for weighing

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