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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.

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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. lie — to recline
  3. capital — money
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. present — the time now
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mate — a partner
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. present — a gift
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pop — soda
  23. present — there
  24. cell — in a prison

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