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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. branch — a division
  6. hand — help
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. perch — the fish
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cell — in biology
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kick — in football
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. ball — a round shape

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