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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rock — music
  9. kick — in football
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bat — for baseball

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