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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. game — a match
  7. perch — the fish
  8. hand — in cards
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hand — help
  11. can — to be able to
  12. fine — all right
  13. season — in sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. can — a tin
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cell — in biology
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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