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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. hand — help
  6. bass — low music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wake — a trail
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — to come down
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. land — ground
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cell — in biology

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