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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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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: foot · bat · hand · mine · march · cue · bank · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mine — for digging
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bank — for money
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bat — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — in cards
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bank — for money
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bank — of a river
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. march — music

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