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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 120 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: chip · cell · staff · lean · bat · fall · club · drill

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. drill — a practice
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. drill — the tool
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. lean — thin
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chip — for betting
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — army training
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cell — in biology

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