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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitch — completely
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. game — a match
  8. pop — soda
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pop — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cell — a phone
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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