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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. game — wild animals
  3. hand — in cards
  4. vault — a safe
  5. cap — a hat
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — electric
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. current — of water
  10. cell — in biology
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. hand — help
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — a match
  16. key — the most important part
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. key — in music
  21. cap — of ice
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. drill — the tool

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