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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. swing — music
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. track — a song
  16. swing — to play on
  17. track — a path
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pound — a weight
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. swing — in golf

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