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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. toast — bread
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. staff — employees
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. staff — a stick
  23. march — music
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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