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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a music group
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hand — help
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. hand — in cards
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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