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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pop — soda
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — an illness
  12. object — an aim
  13. pop — to visit
  14. object — a thing
  15. pop — music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. club — for dancing
  19. chest — of your body
  20. club — for golf
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fork — in a road
  23. club — a group
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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