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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: cell · bat · rest · deal · wave · chair · squash · dip

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. squash — to crush
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rest — a break
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cell — in biology

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