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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cell — a phone
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — to drill
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. band — a music group
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bore — to tire
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bat — for baseball

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