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

Word bank: leaves · present · chest · cell · bat · fork

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. present — there
  3. chest — of your body
  4. present — a gift
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cell — in biology
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. present — the time now
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bat — for baseball

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