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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — to tease
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — high quality
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. drill — army training
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — for baseball

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