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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. net — for catching
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chip — for betting
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a tool
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. net — in sport
  12. season — in sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. file — a line of people
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — of the year
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. file — a document
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chip — to eat

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