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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. net — in sport
  4. firm — decided
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bear — the animal
  10. firm — steady
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. band — a music group
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. firm — a company
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cell — in biology
  19. net — for catching
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. net — after costs
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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