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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. hand — help
  3. net — after costs
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hand — in cards
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spring — a coil
  8. deal — to handle
  9. net — for catching
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — to crush
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. squash — the sport
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — music
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. nail — on a finger

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