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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — a subject
  11. suit — in cards
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. field — farmland
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. charge — a price
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mine — for digging
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — electricity
  21. cell — in biology
  22. field — for sport
  23. suit — clothes
  24. bowl — a dish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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