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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. club — for golf
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bat — the animal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. saw — the tool
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — help
  15. club — a group
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. hand — part of the body

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