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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bat — the animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fine — all right
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cell — in biology
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pitch — completely
  24. staff — employees

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