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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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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: sharp · cell · last · wound · rule · game · cap · spring

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — clever
  6. last — to go on
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — government
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spring — the season
  11. last — finally
  12. rule — a law
  13. cap — a lid
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. game — a match
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. game — wild animals
  18. last — final
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cap — of ice
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. spring — of water

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