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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wound — an injury
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pitch — completely
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pop — soda
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a music group
  15. pop — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a ring
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cell — in biology

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