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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: row · kid · wake · stand · mug · cell · foot · bat

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. cell — in biology
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wake — a trail
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. foot — a measure
  12. mug — a cup
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. mug — to rob
  15. kid — to tease
  16. row — a line
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mug — a face
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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