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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: lie · cell · deal · jam · clip · object · hand · cold

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. object — an aim
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — to protest
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — for paper
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cold — not warm
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — in biology
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hand — help
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — an illness

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