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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cell — in biology
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cell — a phone
  5. present — a gift
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. present — there
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. wind — moving air
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. present — the time now
  19. mate — to breed
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. vault — a safe
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mate — a partner

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