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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 120 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. swing — music
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — for sport
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. swing — in golf
  9. track — a song
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bound — certain
  12. swing — to play on
  13. spring — of water
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. court — of law
  18. track — a path
  19. court — of a king
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — the season
  24. tear — from crying

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