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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cell — a phone
  4. band — a music group
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a ring
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bowl — a football final

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