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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lie — to recline
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. hand — in cards
  12. craft — a skill
  13. snap — to click
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. craft — boats
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. game — a match
  23. tube — a container
  24. bat — the animal

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