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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: rest · cell · game · bear · bat · calf · march · saw

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rest — a break
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — in biology
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bear — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. march — music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rest — what's left

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