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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · pop · cell · bowl · chest · kid

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pop — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fine — all right
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pop — soda
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — a box
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. kid — child

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