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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: lie · cell · straw · cap · scale · bat · suit · land

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cap — a hat
  5. land — ground
  6. cell — a phone
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. scale — in music
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cap — a lid
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. suit — clothes
  16. land — to come down
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. suit — to fit
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. suit — in cards

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