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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bass — low music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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