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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. firm — decided
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bat — the animal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. firm — a company
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — the underground
  10. squash — the sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. band — a ring
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. kid — child
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. firm — steady
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — in an idiom

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