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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kid — to tease
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. firm — steady
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kid — child
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. tube — the underground
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. firm — a company
  19. roll — a list
  20. firm — decided
  21. lie — to recline
  22. roll — a cake
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. racket — a loud noise

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