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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. land — a country
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. capital — a city
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. rock — a stone
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. land — to come down

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