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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 120 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bear — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chest — a box
  8. net — for catching
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. net — after costs
  12. game — a match
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. game — wild animals
  18. season — in sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. band — a ring
  22. net — in sport
  23. bear — the animal
  24. squash — the sport

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