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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. key — in music
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. kick — in football
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. foot — a measure
  16. key — the most important part
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bat — the animal
  21. row — a line
  22. kid — child
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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