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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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468
Word bank
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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mine — for digging
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — a phone
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spell — magic
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — hasty
  11. dip — to sink
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rash — a series
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. spell — letters

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