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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rush — hurry
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pit — a hole
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. drill — army training
  24. band — a music group

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