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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: cell · bat · row · land · arm · game · perch · fall

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. row — to paddle
  4. land — ground
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. game — wild animals
  8. row — a line
  9. fall — to drop
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fall — the season
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. game — a match
  14. cell — a phone
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. land — a country
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — the fish
  22. fall — to drop
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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