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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. capital — money
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pit — a hole
  7. file — a tool
  8. spring — the season
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. perch — the fish
  11. current — of water
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a city
  17. file — a document
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. current — happening now
  21. file — a line of people
  22. current — electric
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. capital — a big letter

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