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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cell — a phone
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. hand — help
  10. bass — low music
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — a contest
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. staff — a stick
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bass — the fish
  24. race — humankind

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