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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wake · lie · season · wound · mine · cap · bat

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. season — of the year
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wake — a trail
  18. season — in sport
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. lie — to recline

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