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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. firm — a company
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — the season
  12. firm — decided
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — rain
  15. firm — steady
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chest — of your body

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