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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. face — to confront
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pop — soda
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pop — to visit
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pop — music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pitch — completely

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