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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. file — a tool
  3. net — for catching
  4. object — to protest
  5. mug — a face
  6. object — a thing
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cell — a phone
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mug — a cup
  13. object — an aim
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pound — a weight
  17. net — after costs
  18. file — a document
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mug — to rob
  21. net — in sport
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pound — for dogs
  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