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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cap — a hat
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cap — a lid
  10. fine — all right
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cap — of ice
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chest — a box
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — the animal

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