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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. land — ground
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. swing — in golf
  13. face — to point toward
  14. swing — music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. land — a country
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. face — to confront
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — to come down

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