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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. scale — in music
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bound — obliged
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. kick — in football
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bound — certain
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. land — to come down

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