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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fine — all right
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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