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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hand — help
  5. scale — in music
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rule — a law
  8. file — a tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. file — a document
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. scale — size or range
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pop — to visit
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. file — a line of people

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