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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — a match
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. roll — a list
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. lean — to bend
  10. spring — the season
  11. cell — in biology
  12. game — wild animals
  13. roll — a cake
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lean — thin
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spring — of water
  19. scale — in music
  20. spring — a coil
  21. scale — size or range
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pop — music

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