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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bound — certain
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bound — tied together
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. game — a match
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. stand — to bear
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stand — for spectators

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