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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cold — not warm
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cell — a phone
  9. march — music
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — a series
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — for light

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