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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. land — ground
  6. spring — the season
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. land — a country
  9. snap — to click
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. spring — of water
  12. object — a thing
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cell — a phone
  15. object — to protest
  16. chest — of your body
  17. land — to come down
  18. cell — in biology
  19. object — an aim
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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