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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — not warm
  5. squash — to crush
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. band — a music group
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kick — in football
  12. key — the most important part
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. key — in music
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. key — for a lock
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cold — an illness
  20. perch — the fish
  21. squash — the sport
  22. band — a ring
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cell — in biology

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