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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spring — of water
  6. cell — in biology
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cell — a phone
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. spring — the season
  16. mine — for digging
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rest — a break
  23. ball — a great time
  24. rest — what's left

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