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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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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: drill · hand · land · deal · cell · cue · bear · swing

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cue — a signal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cue — for pool
  15. land — ground
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bear — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. swing — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. land — a country
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — to play on

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