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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mug — a face
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. plane — a tool
  7. kid — child
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. kid — to tease
  10. vault — a safe
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rash — a series
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mug — to rob
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. coach — a trainer
  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