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

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. net — for catching
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. drill — army training
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. net — in sport
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chip — for betting
  12. net — after costs
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. pound — a weight
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bat — the animal

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