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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. content — happy
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chip — for betting
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. lean — thin
  9. chip — to eat
  10. shower — rain
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to tire
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — the amount
  23. toast — bread
  24. content — videos and posts

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