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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chip — for betting
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kid — child
  13. march — the month
  14. fine — all right
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — in football
  17. wax — to grow
  18. chip — to eat
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — to tease
  23. squash — the sport
  24. march — music

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