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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · present · foot · cell · kid · club

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. club — for dancing
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — a group
  8. present — the time now
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — child
  13. present — a gift
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — for golf
  17. kid — to tease
  18. present — there

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