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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. net — for catching
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — of water
  10. pass — a permit
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — happy
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spring — a coil
  18. race — humankind
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cell — a phone

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