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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — child
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bear — the animal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. spring — of water
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spring — the season
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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