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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wake — a trail
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. staff — employees
  18. rock — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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