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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. land — a country
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — ground
  7. cell — a phone
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. band — a ring
  10. track — a song
  11. bat — the animal
  12. land — to come down
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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