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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pass — a permit
  6. land — a country
  7. rock — music
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rock — a stone
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hand — help
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. land — ground
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — to come down
  24. snap — to click

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