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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 116 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. saw — the tool
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bat — for baseball

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