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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. charge — a price
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — child
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. scale — in music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cell — a phone
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. charge — electricity
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — soda
  19. charge — in control
  20. pop — music
  21. spring — the season
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bay — a horse colour

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