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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — ground
  4. game — a match
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pitch — completely
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. land — a country
  12. spring — the season
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cell — a phone
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bound — certain
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — to come down
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cell — in biology

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