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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. track — a path
  6. row — a line
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. branch — a division
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cell — in biology
  20. track — a song
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mark — a trace
  24. row — a quarrel

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