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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. foot — a measure
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. plane — a tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bat — the animal
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. cell — a phone
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. wax — to grow
  21. hand — help
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. plane — an aircraft

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