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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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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: game · cell · pit · ball · bat · lash · row · foot

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. foot — a measure
  4. row — a line
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pit — a hole
  13. game — a match
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pit — in a race
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cell — in biology
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ball — a great time

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