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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bat — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. land — a country
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. scale — size or range
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cell — a phone
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. nail — for a hammer

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