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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — magic
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rest — a break
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pound — a weight
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cap — a hat
  12. game — a match
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spell — a short time
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spell — letters
  24. mine — belonging to me

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