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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cap — a lid
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chip — to eat
  9. file — a document
  10. cap — a hat
  11. file — a tool
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — a country
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cap — of ice
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. rash — a series
  23. chip — for betting
  24. file — a line of people

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