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

Word bank: cell · chest · spring · mug · pound · rash · deal · fine

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. mug — to rob
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chest — a box
  6. fine — all right
  7. spring — of water
  8. fine — high quality
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mug — a face
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mug — a cup
  24. rash — a series

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