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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. ball — a great time
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bulb — for light
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — help
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. file — a document
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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