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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — magic
  6. cue — for pool
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. spell — letters
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. toast — bread
  20. spell — a short time
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. plane — a tool
  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