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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fall — the season
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. drill — army training
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. net — for catching
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — the animal

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