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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to click
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. staff — a stick
  10. ball — a dance
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. kid — to tease
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — child
  18. staff — employees
  19. ball — a great time
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bat — in an idiom

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