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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cell — in biology
  3. staff — employees
  4. race — a contest
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rash — a series
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — humankind
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chest — of your body
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. race — the arms race

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