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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — child
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. scale — in music
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kick — in football
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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