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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. calf — of the leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. swing — music
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. charge — a price
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. drill — army training
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bear — the animal
  20. charge — in control
  21. swing — in golf
  22. drill — the tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  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