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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mug — a face
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a cup
  15. lean — thin
  16. mug — to rob
  17. lean — to bend
  18. row — a line
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cell — in biology
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. hand — help
  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