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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spring — a coil
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. spring — of water
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spell — magic
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. dip — to sink
  16. spell — letters
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. spring — the season
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fan — a supporter

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