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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pass — a permit
  3. scale — in music
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cell — in biology
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. land — to come down

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