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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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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: club · chest · fall · roll · cell · bat · safe · temple

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chest — a box
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. fall — the season
  13. cell — in biology
  14. club — a group
  15. chest — of your body
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cell — a phone
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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