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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: arm · ball · bat · rule · lean · pitch · cell · ground

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ground — a position
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rule — a law
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pitch — completely
  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