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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. lie — to recline
  5. drill — the tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. chair — a leader
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. drill — a practice
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. drill — army training
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. nail — for a hammer

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