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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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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: trunk · mate · key · race · dip · bat · game · cell

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. game — a match
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. key — in music
  6. race — humankind
  7. mate — a friend
  8. game — wild animals
  9. key — the most important part
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. key — for a lock
  14. race — the arms race
  15. dip — to sink
  16. mate — a partner
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. race — a contest
  24. game — a kind of play

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