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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 124 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rock — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — the amount
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spell — magic
  12. cell — a phone
  13. foot — a measure
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. content — happy
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. cell — in biology
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rock — to move gently

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