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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spell — letters
  13. foot — a measure
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. deal — to handle
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. spell — a short time
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ground — crushed
  23. spell — magic
  24. cell — in biology

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