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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bear · ball · degree · swing · firm · cell · spring · net

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. firm — decided
  7. net — after costs
  8. swing — music
  9. firm — steady
  10. spring — of water
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. net — in sport
  22. firm — a company
  23. spring — the season
  24. net — for catching

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