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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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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: pound · ball · bat · board · lean · swing · sharp · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lean — thin
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. lean — to bend
  14. swing — in golf
  15. board — a committee
  16. bat — the animal
  17. board — to get on
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. swing — music
  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