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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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 — a phone
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mate — a friend
  5. hand — help
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. last — final
  8. mate — a partner
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mate — to breed
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. last — to go on
  16. hand — in cards
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. vault — a safe
  21. last — finally
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. swing — to play on
  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