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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cell — a phone
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bound — certain
  13. staff — employees
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — obliged
  18. branch — a division
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. game — a match
  22. clip — to cut
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bat — in an idiom

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