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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cell — in biology
  4. shower — to wash
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. stock — goods
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. shower — rain
  19. scale — in music
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. club — for dancing
  24. stock — shares

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