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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fall — the season
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — to rob
  12. pit — a hole
  13. field — for sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pit — in a race
  16. field — a subject
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. mug — a face
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — farmland
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rash — a series

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