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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. track — a song
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. track — a path
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. track — to keep track
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. staff — employees
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. staff — employees

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