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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 124 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cell — a phone
  7. object — an aim
  8. cell — in biology
  9. object — a thing
  10. chest — a box
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bat — the animal
  13. season — of the year
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. track — a path
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. track — a song
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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