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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spring — a coil
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cell — a phone
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spring — of water
  14. bass — low music
  15. ground — a position
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. board — to get on
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bass — the fish
  20. board — a committee
  21. ground — crushed
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — the season
  24. squash — the sport

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