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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — a country
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — to come down
  6. current — electric
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cue — for pool
  9. land — ground
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spring — of water
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. current — happening now
  21. cell — a phone
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. current — of water

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