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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cue — for pool
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cell — in biology
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. toast — bread
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kick — in football
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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