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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — the animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. spell — magic
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — child
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. nail — on a finger

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