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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: object · cell · drill · staff · file · game · jam · bat

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bat — the animal
  3. object — to protest
  4. file — a tool
  5. object — a thing
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. object — an aim
  10. staff — employees
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cell — a phone
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. drill — the tool
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. drill — a practice
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. file — a document

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