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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — in biology
  4. lean — to bend
  5. craft — boats
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ground — a position
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. craft — a skill
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ground — crushed
  23. hand — help
  24. pound — for dogs

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