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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. net — in sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. staff — employees
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. spring — the season
  11. net — after costs
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bound — obliged
  18. staff — employees
  19. kid — child
  20. net — for catching
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cell — a phone
  23. date — the fruit
  24. fan — to cool the air

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