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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 120 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a great time
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — a city
  13. chest — a box
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lean — thin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — a match
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. capital — money
  23. lean — to bend
  24. ball — a dance

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