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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tube — the underground
  5. net — after costs
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. land — to come down
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. land — a country
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bound — obliged
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bound — certain
  23. land — ground
  24. net — for catching

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