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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cue — a hint
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bat — the animal
  14. current — electric
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. current — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. current — happening now
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — in an idiom

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