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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cell — in biology
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — a phone
  6. scale — in music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. snap — to click
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a match
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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