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

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. band — a ring
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. current — of water
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. band — a music group
  14. chest — a box
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison

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