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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spell — letters
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spring — of water
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spell — magic
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — the season
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in biology
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rock — a stone
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — music
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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