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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — in football
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. hand — help
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. hand — in cards

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