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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kick — in football
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. can — to be able to
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — not warm
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. can — a tin
  14. firm — a company
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. craft — boats
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. firm — decided
  24. bark — to shout

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