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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ball — a dance
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. charge — a price
  9. cap — of ice
  10. content — the amount
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spell — letters
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. charge — in control
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — in biology
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. charge — electricity
  23. cap — a lid
  24. ball — a round shape

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