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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spring — of water
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cell — a phone
  5. track — a song
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rest — what's left
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rest — what's left
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cell — in biology
  19. track — a path
  20. cue — a signal
  21. drill — army training
  22. spring — the season
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cold — not warm

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