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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kid — child
  9. bat — the animal
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cap — a hat
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pitch — completely
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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