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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. hand — help
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rock — a stone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kid — child
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bat — the animal
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rock — music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. trunk — of a tree

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