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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: deal · mine · hand · bat · cell · squash · scale · lean

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — to handle
  3. lean — thin
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. lean — to bend
  7. squash — to crush
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. scale — in music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. lean — to rest against

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