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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 120 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: cell · bat · temple · wound · cue · chip · bore · bass

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bass — low music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chip — to eat
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bass — the fish
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bore — to tire
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cue — for pool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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