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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. roll — a list
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — an illness
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stand — to bear
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. roll — a cake
  19. game — a match
  20. spring — of water
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cold — the Cold War

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