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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. hand — help
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — for digging
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cue — a hint
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fine — all right
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cue — for pool
  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