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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — a phone
  7. drill — a practice
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bat — the animal
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. drill — the tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. drill — army training

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