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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spell — magic
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. capital — money
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — a short time
  20. capital — a city
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spell — letters

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