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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spell — magic
  7. staff — employees
  8. bound — certain
  9. staff — employees
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. net — after costs
  12. cell — in biology
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spell — letters
  16. bound — obliged
  17. net — for catching
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. net — in sport
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cold — an illness

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