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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: toast · cell · cold · safe · kid · bat · lash · court

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cell — a phone
  5. court — of a king
  6. cold — an illness
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. kid — child
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — in biology
  20. court — of law
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — for sport

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