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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. current — happening now
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to point toward
  7. spring — of water
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. current — of water
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spell — a short time
  16. current — electric
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. face — to confront
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spell — letters
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spring — the season

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