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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. can — to be able to
  7. cell — a phone
  8. can — a tin
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cap — of ice
  12. kid — to tease
  13. ball — a dance
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — money
  18. can — a tin
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cap — a hat
  23. lean — to bend
  24. capital — a big letter

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