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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. suit — in cards
  8. chip — to eat
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — to fit
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — the fish
  15. tube — the underground
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tube — a container

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