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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — in biology
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — the season
  8. hand — help
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mate — to breed
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mate — a friend
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — in cards
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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