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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. file — a tool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. kick — in football
  8. date — the fruit
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. club — a group
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. club — for golf
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. file — a document
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — in cards
  23. club — for dancing
  24. wave — with your hand

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