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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. swing — music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. spring — of water
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. swing — to play on
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — in music
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cell — in biology

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