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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lie — to recline
  4. band — a ring
  5. cell — a phone
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. land — to come down
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. scale — in music
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a music group
  21. land — a country
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. land — ground
  24. mouse — the animal

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