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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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468
Word bank
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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kick — in football
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. file — a tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. file — a document
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. chair — a leader
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. file — a line of people

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