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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. shower — rain
  8. pit — a hole
  9. capital — a city
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. band — a music group
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pit — in a race
  15. craft — a skill
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. band — a ring
  18. cell — a phone
  19. capital — money
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. shower — to wash
  22. foot — a measure
  23. craft — boats
  24. bat — for baseball

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