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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 · toast · drill · hand · bound · cap · leaves · bat

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bound — obliged
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. drill — army training
  6. cap — a hat
  7. drill — a practice
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bound — tied together
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cap — of ice
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — certain
  16. bat — the animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. toast — bread
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cap — a lid
  22. hand — help
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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