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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — the animal
  4. club — for golf
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pass — a permit
  16. club — a group
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to click

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