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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 116 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pop — music
  5. cell — in biology
  6. file — a document
  7. shower — to wash
  8. content — the amount
  9. squash — the sport
  10. shower — rain
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pop — soda
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. pop — to visit
  17. content — happy
  18. squash — to crush
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. file — a line of people
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. file — a tool
  24. squash — the vegetable

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