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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. snap — to click
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — happening now
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. current — of water
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. current — electric

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