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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. rest — what's left
  8. board — to get on
  9. stock — shares
  10. clip — a video
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. board — a committee
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rest — what's left
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. stock — goods

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