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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. kid — child
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. clip — for paper
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. drill — army training
  14. toast — bread
  15. plane — a tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — to tease
  18. root — of a plant
  19. clip — a video
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. root — of a word
  23. clip — to cut
  24. plane — in geometry

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