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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. pit — a hole
  3. wind — moving air
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — to keep track
  9. board — a committee
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. track — a path
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. board — to get on
  17. pit — in a race
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. roll — a list
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. roll — a cake
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. track — a song
  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