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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spring — of water
  15. band — a music group
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — a leader
  19. band — a ring
  20. row — a line
  21. ball — a great time
  22. row — to paddle
  23. spring — the season
  24. row — a quarrel

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