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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: drill · can · lie · bat · cell · bowl · saw · snap

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. saw — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. snap — to click
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. can — to be able to
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. can — a tin

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