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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. object — an aim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rush — hurry
  7. present — the time now
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — of water
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. object — to protest
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. object — a thing
  18. pop — soda
  19. present — a gift
  20. pop — to visit
  21. present — there
  22. pop — music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — the Cold War

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