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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — of the year
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pop — music
  8. season — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fall — the season
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — soda
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chip — for betting
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pop — to visit
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cell — in a prison

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