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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: snap · scale · land · cell · row · present · rush · bat

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. land — a country
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cell — in biology
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. land — ground
  11. row — a line
  12. scale — in music
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. land — to come down
  22. snap — to click
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bat — the animal

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