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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cell — a phone
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mug — a face
  6. lean — thin
  7. bat — the animal
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cell — in biology
  13. current — of water
  14. toast — bread
  15. current — happening now
  16. mug — to rob
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lean — to bend
  21. mug — a cup
  22. current — electric
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — in an idiom

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