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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fork — in a road
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. board — a committee
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bat — the animal
  9. game — a match
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a line of people
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. rest — what's left
  16. file — a document
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rest — a break
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rest — what's left
  22. board — to get on
  23. file — a tool
  24. perch — the fish

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