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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fine — all right
  3. game — wild animals
  4. shower — rain
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. object — to protest
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. game — a match
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bound — obliged
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — of the year
  17. object — an aim
  18. stock — goods
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. object — a thing
  23. stock — shares
  24. season — in sport

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