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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — a country
  4. kick — in football
  5. ball — a great time
  6. land — ground
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bank — for money
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fall — the season
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kick — with a leg

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