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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 120 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — the sport
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fine — high quality
  9. staff — employees
  10. chest — a box
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — the animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. dip — to sink
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mate — to breed
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fine — all right
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. kid — child
  23. staff — a stick
  24. fine — a penalty

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