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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. roll — a list
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. firm — steady
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spring — of water
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. firm — a company
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cap — a lid
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cell — a phone
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. firm — decided

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