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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 · drill · lean · hand · tube · squash · bay · present

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lean — thin
  9. squash — the sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. hand — help
  12. tube — a container
  13. squash — to crush
  14. lean — to bend
  15. present — there
  16. cell — in biology
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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