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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. cell — a phone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. prune — to trim
  16. net — after costs
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  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