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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: cell · mine · object · land · rock · temple · content · bat

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rock — a stone
  3. object — an aim
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. land — to come down
  6. content — happy
  7. land — ground
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. land — a country
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. object — a thing
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. mine — for digging
  17. object — to protest
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. content — the amount
  20. rock — music
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mine — belonging to me

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