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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bound — certain
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. cell — in biology
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. foot — a measure
  13. hand — help
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bat — the animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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