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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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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: cell · toast · land · kid · club · bat · wake · lean

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. toast — bread
  6. cell — a phone
  7. club — a group
  8. lean — thin
  9. land — a country
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. wake — a trail
  12. club — for golf
  13. kid — child
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. land — ground

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