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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rock — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. band — a ring
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — the season
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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