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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 116 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: tear · bat · lean · swing · rock · game · dip · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. dip — to sink
  3. rock — music
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cell — a phone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. rock — a stone
  12. swing — music
  13. lean — to bend
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. swing — in golf
  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