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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cell — a phone
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. season — in sport
  16. deal — to handle
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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