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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. present — the time now
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — the animal
  9. present — a gift
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. dip — to sink
  18. present — there
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. march — the month

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