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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mine — for digging
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — in biology
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mine — belonging to me

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