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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: swing · cell · file · wake · dip · rest · foot · bat

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — a trail
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. swing — in golf
  10. foot — a measure
  11. swing — music
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cell — a phone
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — to sink

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