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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bat — the animal
  4. current — happening now
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. current — of water
  12. key — in music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — a match
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. game — wild animals
  17. key — the most important part
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spring — the season
  20. chair — a leader
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. spring — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. key — for a lock

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