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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. shower — rain
  5. march — music
  6. suit — to fit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — the month
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. suit — in cards
  18. fall — the season
  19. suit — clothes
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fall — to drop

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