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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tube — a container
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tube — the underground
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. racket — for tennis

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