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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rest — a break
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cap — a lid
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bat — the animal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. sharp — clever

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