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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bound — certain
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bound — obliged
  7. ground — a position
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wound — an injury
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wound — an injury
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. press — to push
  17. scale — in music
  18. cell — in biology
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. scale — size or range
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chip — in a computer

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