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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. hand — help
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. land — ground
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. land — a country
  19. cell — in biology
  20. land — to come down
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wave — of the sea

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