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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. club — for golf
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. march — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. saw — the tool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. club — a group
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — a phone
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. club — for dancing
  22. march — the month
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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