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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. date — the fruit
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — child
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. net — in sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spring — the season
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kid — to tease

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