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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. last — final
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cell — a phone
  8. roll — a cake
  9. rule — government
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. last — finally
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. roll — a list
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. rock — music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. last — to go on

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